


Cracks in the Ice

by zenonaa



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 13:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18851575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenonaa/pseuds/zenonaa
Summary: “A person can change their target, but it’s not so simple as saying that. Even if it makes sense, the heart doesn’t always follow. And if your heart doesn’t want to redirect... dating someone else anyway who you’re not really interested in, and leading them on, maybe hoping you fall in love with them later, will only create a relationship full of cracks.”While hunting down Frozer, Chat Noir stumbles upon Kagami. She gives him a small reality check.





	Cracks in the Ice

As magical ice spread through Paris, gradually consuming everything and everyone, Ladybug and Chat Noir stood on a building, side-by-side. Though their new transformations protected them from falling victim to the akuma’s magic, a frostiness nonetheless hung between them.

“Chat Noir, we need to set up a trap for whoever turned the city into a giant ice rink,” said Ladybug. She hurled her yo-yo. It cut through the air with a loud zip sound, and she readied herself to dash off. Her knees bent. Her brow furrowed.

Next to her, Chat Noir turned his head away and folded his arms over his chest. 

“My feline instincts prefer to track and observe before I attack,” he stated. Ladybug hesitated and turned back.

He slid down the roof to a ledge, pointedly refusing to so much as glance at her. His arms uncoupled to dangle by his sides, and he puffed out his chest.

“You go your way,” he said, glaring at the distance, “and I’ll go mine.”

Confusion crumpled Ladybug’s features, and even after she had apprehended his statement, the tension in her face remained. In a purposely light tone, holding back her exasperation as best she could, she said, “Please don’t tell me you’re mad about the rose.”

The rose that he offered to her, and the rose she rejected. Chat Noir tensed, telling her that she was on the mark.

“There may be a certain chill now between us,” he replied stiffly, and he finally looked at her again. 

They were so not doing this right now. Ladybug restrained a sigh. 

“I get it, but we should really focus on saving Paris right now,” she said. She flicked her wrists, facing her palms up.

Chat Noir’s lips pursed.

“We don’t always have to do everything together. After all, it’s not like we’re a couple,” he told her with a harshness to his eyes.

Then, without waiting for an answer, he jumped down, landing on the pavement. Ladybug leaned forward and reached after him, but of course by that point, he was out of range.

“Chat Noir!” she cried out. She retracted her arm and shook her fists, slouching her shoulders. “Don’t get all pouty on me!”

He skated away, not looking back once. With every stride, the ice hissed as his skates collided with it. The lack of a thud, second set of scraping or whistle of wind told him that Ladybug hadn’t chased after him. Well... good. And just what he expected. And wanted. Yep. 

The ice had transformed Paris into an eerie blue realm devoid almost entirely of life. It encased postboxes, lamp posts, cars and people. He passed a woman who had her leg elevated, partway through stepping forward. Near her, a man’s face was scrunched mid-scream. Some people hadn’t realised what was happening, but others seemed to, their faces suspended in indefinite terror.

Silver breaths puffed out of him. His chest still felt tight, even with the increasing distance between himself and Ladybug. After he hurtled through a couple more streets, he skidded to a stop and decided to take to the rooftops. At a greater height, Chat Noir would be able to more easily locate the villain, secretly gauge the guy’s movements and then, at the right moment, strike. He darted into an alley and sprung between two walls, propelling himself higher and higher with every leap until he popped out at the top and arrived on a roof. 

Once there, he approached the edge, shielded his eyes with his hand and surveyed the area. No movement, at least in this part of Paris, and other than the wind, no sound. Chat Noir would have to be vigilant as he explored. The lack of activity everywhere didn’t just mean the villain would stick out if nearby, but Chat Noir would too.

While he could flit around the city undetected if he stayed on ground level, being up high provided a less obstructed view and as long as he paid attention to his surroundings and didn’t bound around without checking things out first, he would be better off keeping to the sky. He swiveled his head, eyes screwed up, and deeming it safe, jumped to the next building. The Eiffel Tower stood in the distance. That would be a good place to investigate so Chat Noir started heading there.

Only, once he landed on the next building, he heard a familiar voice.

“Stay back!” cried out not Ladybug, but someone else he knew, who he had been with all day. Kagami.

His eyes widened. He changed direction, sprinting and soaring from building to building as he pursued the voice. Soon, he touched down on a roof and sure enough, there was Kagami, not frozen like most of the residents in Paris. However, she was standing on a small section of uncontaminated roof that rapidly shrunk as the magical ice closed in on her.

Chat Noir rushed forward. Kagami whirled around and she had just laid her eyes on him when he scooped her up. Holding her with one arm, he gripped his baton with his other and extended it. They vaulted onto another building, then he hopped them across a few others all completely covered in ice. The reason he moved them was in case Frozer decided to check on the commotion.

Track and observe. Confront later.

He judged that they were far enough away from where he found her and stopped. Kagami pushed herself away from his chest and he adjusted his hold so he supported her with both arms. She gazed up at him wordlessly. A small smile tweaked the ends of his lips, but her lips didn’t even slightly quiver from their grim arch.

“That was a close one,” he said, for lack of anything else to say.

Silence greeted him initially. Kagami didn’t answer right away.

Then, 

“Don’t you have a city to save?” she asked bluntly.

He gave a twitch then laughed. It came out forced, because it was.

“Yes, but I couldn’t let you become frozen too,” he explained.

Kagami shrugged, still with that same stern expression. “Why not? You and Ladybug will save the day and restore everything afterwards. I wouldn’t mind.”

She made a valid point, but the mention of Ladybug drew his lips into a pout.

“Why does it have to be me and Ladybug, together?” he asked. “We don’t have to do everything together. We’re not a couple.”

“But you’re a team, aren’t you?” she pointed out.

His pout flattened into a grimace.

“And I never said you were a couple either,” she replied. She cocked her head, eyeing him closely. “It sounds like you have some issues that need resolving after you save Paris.”

He turned his head to the side, clenching his jaw.

“Did you fall out with her?” she asked him.

Her gaze wouldn’t yield.

A beat passed. “Kinda,” he admitted.

Kagami blinked calmly.

“Listen, I don’t know you well enough to give advice, and if I’m honest... I don’t care,” she said.

That stung. Chat Noir winced. When Kagami resumed talking, she spoke with no inflection indicating regret or pity.

“But you have a duty to protect everyone, and if your emotions are getting in the way, then it becomes other people’s business. You mustn’t let your emotions dictate your actions or cloud your judgement,” she said.

At that moment, Chat Noir glimpsed his father in her face, and he felt like he was caged up in his bedroom at home.

“I’m not!” Chat Noir snapped, and right away he realised what he did. He cringed, and softer, he said, “Kagami, I’m sorry, I...”

“Please, you didn’t offend me in the slightest,” she said, unaffected. “The person you should be apologising to is Ladybug, because it sounds like you’re the one who went frosty on her, not the akuma.”

His frown deepened.

“You don’t seem to have good control over your emotions,” she added.

Chat Noir opened his mouth to respond but the first word got caught in his throat. At first, he thought she was wrong. Completely wrong. When he transformed, that was one of the few times he could act out and let loose his emotions. Adrien had to keep them all in, had to be perfect and not let any of his feelings escape lest someone scold him and make him feel ashamed of them...

... ah. Maybe bottling his emotions up wasn’t controlling them, or even managing them. At least, not properly. Not well. When they slipped out, he almost always fell to pieces. He wished he could speak his mind more, and be more open without fear of judgement, punishment or rejection, like... like Marinette, who always stuck by her beliefs, who didn’t just do what was expected of her. Who would go against the crowd if it meant being honest and true to herself.

Marinette... His heart skipped as he imagined her smile, her laugh, her lively unfiltered chatter... She had been at the ice rink too, so probably became frozen near the beginning of the akuma attack.

Luka was a lucky guy to have Marinette’s interest.

“I know it sucks when someone doesn’t return your affections,” Kagami said, drawing him out of his thoughts. She averted her eyes from his face. “In my case, it’s because there’s someone else.”

“Oh...” It escaped him in a breath.

“A person can change their target, but it’s not so simple as saying that,” she admitted, hunching her shoulders. “Even if it makes sense, the heart doesn’t always follow. And if your heart doesn’t want to redirect... dating someone else anyway who you’re not really interested in, and leading them on, maybe hoping you fall in love with them later, will only create a relationship full of cracks.”

Chat Noir was silent. Kagami shifted her gaze back onto him.

“Their heart’s compass may point to you with time, but until then, all you can do is wait and keep your heart open, because you might find someone just as good, or even better, instead,” she said. “You can’t rush it.”

He nodded, and they almost had a moment. Kagami hardened her features and prodded his chest.

“Also, seriously, apologise to Ladybug and save Paris,” she said. “You’ve been a brat. She doesn’t owe you anything.”

Chat Noir flinched, but then smiled a bit.

“I will,” he said, and he chuckled. “And I have been a brat today. Ladybug’s rejection really hurt, but I shouldn’t have lashed out at her for it. We’re a team, and we’re best friends. That means a lot to me.”

Agrestes were soloists in all aspects of life. His heart, therefore, could only be for one person, Ladybug, but he could still appreciate what Kagami told him even though it didn’t apply to him.

“Thanks, Kagami,” he said. He looked away, and his soft smile flatlined. 

The Eiffel Tower stood in the distance.

Kagami seemed to read his mind. “You can put me down now.”

Chat Noir tensed. His eyes flickered.

“But...” 

“You need to save the day,” she said firmly.

A pause.

“Okay,” he said.

Chat Noir put her down carefully and dashed off. Ice began to crawl up Kagami’s legs. She ignored it, staring after him, and her pensive expression remained on her face when the ice devoured her whole.


End file.
